


a thousand fears behind your lies

by nevernevergirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-11 16:10:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/800616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevernevergirl/pseuds/nevernevergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma searches Tamara's room one last time, because it's still her job to protect the town. It's David's job to pick up the pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a thousand fears behind your lies

**Author's Note:**

> Post- Second Star to the Right, so spoilers through that only. I just really like father-daughter scenes. Title from Poacher's Timing by Aiden Grimshaw.

“You sure you’re okay to do this?” David asked, frowning with concern and a firm, steady grip on Emma’s shoulder. She took a deep breath, allowing herself to indulge in the comfort of it for half a moment before pressing her lips into a tight smile.

“I’m the sheriff, David,” she sighed. “If there’s something in here that can give us a clue about where she’s been other than the cannery, if there’s something here that can help us save the town, we’re going to find it.”

David smiled sadly, nodding. “What am I looking for, Sherriff?”

She gave him a grateful smile, shaking her head and snapping into focus.

“Right,” she mumbled, surveying the room, taking a deep breath. "I've already checked the floorboards, I don't think she's keeping anything in here. But we followed her to the beach before because she tracked sand in--"

"So we should start with looking through her clothes to see if we can find anything else," David finished for her.

"Exactly," she sighed. "You take the closet and look through the suitcases, I'll start with the dresser."

David nodded, still watching her carefully. Emma groaned, rolling her eyes. 

"David. Come on, we need to do this." 

He gave her a small smile, saluting her teasingly and going over to the closet, rummaging through carefully. Emma steadied herself, walking over to the dresser, carefully pushing aside the t-shirts and boxers littered in with Tamara's things.

_Focus focus focus, do your job, Emma_ , she repeated the thought until her hands were steady. She slammed the drawer shut just hard enough to make it rattle, ignoring the way David turned sharply to check on her, on high alert. She sighed, bending down slightly for the next drawer down--and then froze, a flash of a familiar cheap silver chain catching her eye. 

She straightened up slowly, picking it up carefully.

"Emma?" She felt David moving toward her more than she heard him, his heavy steps on the floorboards shaking her bones to hold her up. "Did you find something?"

"This is mine," she mumbled, turning the chain through her fingers. The bloodrush pounded through her ears-- she sounded underwater. She felt underwater-- how do you  _breathe?_

David placed a hand on her shoulder, big and broad and warm and steadily and blessedly silent.

"It used to be mine," she continued, feeling the hysteria mar the edge of her voice. "I was mad, and I gave it back, and-- there used to be a keychain," she said, abruptly, pulling away from David's grasp. 

"There was a keychain, my swan keychain," she repeated, frantically pushing trinkets and jewelry she didn't recognize out of the way, rifling through all the meaningless  _crap_. "I used to wear it as a necklace, I always wore it, where is it?"

"Emma," David said again, wrapping an arm around her middle to pull her away. She shook her head, even as she let herself fall back against him. 

"I need to find it," she mumbled. "I need it back, I have to find it, it's got to be here somewhere."

"Em," he sighed, holding her back tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, a small strangled noise escaping as she started to shake. He held her through it, stroking her hair, kissing the top of her head. "Hey, sweetheart. You're okay, you're okay."

"I need it back," she said, helplessly. "It's not  _here_."

"Hey," he said, quietly. "Let's go. Your mom's waiting with Henry. Okay?"

She shook her head, spinning around, quickly. "He had it with him," she said, in small voice, eyes widening. "If it's not here, he kept it, he had it with him," she said, dazed. 

David watched her, sadly, rubbing her arms. She swallowed, hard, mind racing.

"He gave it to me, and I was so  _angry_ , and I gave it back, and he  _kept_  it, he..." she shook her head. "It's not supposed to mean anything to him, and he  _kept_ it."

He pulled her back to him, his hand on the back of her head holding her steady as she buried her face against his chest. 

"It's gone," she mumbled. "That's the only thing I had from him, and it's gone."

David inhaled sharply, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "You have your son," he said, quietly, firmly. "Let's go find your son."

She took a deep breath, nodding after a long moment. "Okay," she mumbled, pulling back and wiping at her eyes. She looked up at him, resolutely. "I'm okay."

"Yeah, kid," he smiled, sadly. "You are."


End file.
